turtles

They were found in unclaimed suitcases

(Newser) -
Customs officers at a Philippines airport got a surprise when they opened four abandoned suitcases: Inside were 1,529 live turtles and tortoises of assorted species, wrapped in duct tape, the BBC reports. They included rare and endangered species like star tortoises and sulcata tortoises. Officials estimate they could have...
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Mary River Turtle of Australia is under threat of extinction

(Newser) -
You'd think its punk-rock hair would be enough to bring an Australian turtle fans, even before they learn of its ability to breathe through its genitals. But if overlooked now, researchers hope the Mary River Turtle's spot on a list of unique, endangered reptiles will bring necessary attention...
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Dozens of migrating turtles

(Newser) -
Bird strikes at New York City-area airports have been known to cause emergency landings, but a different type of creature kept some planes from even taking off this week, the AP reports. As part of their annual migration ritual, about 40 diamondback terrapin turtles emerged from Jamaica Bay Friday...
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They spotted 'irregular bulges'

(Newser) -
A Canadian man caught at a border crossing with 51 turtles taped to his body pleaded guilty Tuesday to smuggling or attempting to smuggle more than 1,000 of the reptiles out of southeastern Michigan. Kai Xu, 27, would order turtles online, travel to the US to pick them up,...
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Olive ridley sea turtles are forced to turn back

(Newser) -
A huge swarm of sea turtles emerged on the Costa Rican shore earlier this month to lay eggs, like they do every year. Only problem: Thousands of tourists were there too, getting in the way, prancing around for photos, and even placing their kids on the creatures' backs, Gizmodo reports....
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The 240M-year-old 'grandfather' turtle had no shell and a very long tail

(Newser) -
For at least a century, scientists have puzzled over the turtle. Thanks to a gap in the fossil record between 260 million and 220 million years ago, it's unclear how the turtle got its shell and to whom it's most closely related. Now a fossil from 240 million...
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(Newser) -
Scientists racing to save the Yangtze giant softshell turtle from extinction may have just taken a big step toward their goal. Just four of the freshwater turtles are known to exist—and only one of them, discovered in 2007, is female. After years of failed breeding with her 100-year-old male...
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In the right conditions, the white-throated snapping turtle can live to 100

(Newser) -
The days of the white-throated snapping turtle (Elseya albagula) appear to be numbered, according to the Australian government, which has recently declared them critically endangered. If that isn't attention-grabbing enough, consider that the animal prompted a biologist to talk like this: "These turtles breathe out of their ass,...
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Research claims shell is 40 million years older than previously known

(Newser) -
Turtles were crawling around in their body armor long before the time of the dinosaurs, or at least their ancestors were, according to new research found in Current Biology . Though it was previously believed the turtle shell began forming 220 million years ago, the study of an older ancestor—a...
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Cigar ash sets off bomb in his pocket

(Newser) -
Karma wasted no time in living up to her reputationSaturday in Texas. Police say a 19-year-old man made a bomb with which he planned to "blow up turtles." Instead, as he carried it in his pocket on his way down to the bayou with a friend, he...
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Study reviewed 1,500 species

(Newser) -
Farming and logging are destroying the habitats of the world's reptiles, putting nearly one in five in danger of extinction, reports AFP . The new study—in which 200 experts examined 1,500 species of snakes, turtles, lizards, crocodiles, and other reptiles—claims to be the most comprehensive made of...
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They made a break for it after fences stolen

(Newser) -
Around 1,600 fugitive turtles are hiding out in ponds and creeks in northern Georgia after making a slow but deliberate getaway from a local farm. David Driver, one of only three turtle farmers in the state, says most of his turtles escaped after vandals or possible scrap metal thieves...
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Bibi finally got sick of Poldi

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They were together as a couple for more than a century until out of the blue, Bibi and Poldi—two giant Galápagos tortoises who live in an Austrian zoo—broke off their relationship. The split was anything but cordial, reports Der Spiegel . A belligerent Bibi bit off part of...
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Mating turtles cause shell of a problem

(Newser) -
Apparently, nothing can stand in the way of a turtle's libido—not even a 747. Turtles crawling to breeding grounds across a tarmac at JFK airport have forced the shutdown of a runway several times this week, delaying flights, reports the New York Post . "Running over turtles is...
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Dangers of captivity greater than danger of getting oiled

(Newser) -
Federal biologists are releasing thousands of endangered Kemp's ridley baby sea turtles into the western Gulf of Mexico, betting that by the time the silver dollar-sized swimmers make it to the oil-fouled waters of the eastern Gulf, BP will have cleaned up its goopy mess. Texas has not been significantly...
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Experts suspect slick is to blame

(Newser) -
Dozens of dead sea turtles have washed up along the Mississippi coast over the last couple of days and wildlife officials fear the endangered creatures are among the oil spill's first victims. Necropsies on 5 of the turtles have so far turned up no evidence of oil contamination, although experts,...
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Conservations warn that state's turtles are being eaten out of existence

(Newser) -
Asia's insatiable appetite for turtles could be driving some US species to the brink of extinction, the Los Angeles Times reports. The region's newly affluent consumers are happy to shell out top dollar for the delicacy and with most native species already eaten, Florida's turtle exports are booming. Conservationists warn...
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(Newser) -
A Brooklyn pet-store owner knew he would be dismissed as a crank when he called the cops, but did it anyway—to report the disappearance of a two-headed turtle. The turtle, so popular with the neighborhood kids it was kept in a store window, was rare and requires special treatment....
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